Memory skills games have been and continue to be an ample source of education and amusement for children. Enhancements and features that spark a child's imagination and provide continued engagement of the game with the child add to its play value.
One touchstone memory skills game device is SIMON by MILTON BRADLEY. The device includes four colored buttons, each of which produces a tone when pushed. One method of game play includes lighting up one or more of the buttons in a particular order, after which the player must reproduce the order by pressing the buttons. While the game play is engaging, the manner in which the player interacts with the device is limited. Extended and repeated physical contact with the device may lead to rapid degradation of key parts.
Another memory skills game device is the LOOPZ game by MATTEL. The device includes four illuminated U-shaped areas. The device produces a tone when a beam of light in a particular U-shaped area is broken, such as when a player's hand passes between the prongs of the “U”. One method of game play includes the device lighting up one or more of the U-shaped areas in a particular order, after which the player must reproduce the order by passing a hand through the U-shaped areas. Again, the game play is engaging, but the device uses a proportional number of sensors to interaction areas, which may lead to higher manufacturing costs. A variant of LOOPZ is the TAPZ reflex game, also by MATTEL, which is described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/219,407, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,308 (“Jones”) discloses a robot obstacle detection system. The robot obstacle detection system includes a robot housing which navigates with respect to a surface and a sensor subsystem having a defined relationship with respect to the housing and aimed at the surface for detecting the surface. The sensor subsystem includes an optical emitter and a photon detector having a defined field of view which intersects the field of emission of the emitter at a region. Like the LOOPZ game, the Jones system uses a proportional number of sensors to emitters, which may lead to higher manufacturing costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,985 (“Lee”) discloses a wide-angle passive infrared radiation detector. The infrared radiation detector uses a reflector comprising a mirrored conic section or faceted reflector to increase the field of view of a sensor. The Lee detector is a passive system that merely detects whether an object, such as an intruder, is present within its entire field of view. The Jones and Lee references are both herein incorporated by reference in full.